Snowblower

ABSTRACT

A snowblower includes a main frame, an auger mounted to the main frame via a rotating shaft that defines a rotational axis, a fan rotatably mounted to the main frame coaxially to the auger; and a gear box for operatively coupling both the auger and the fan to an external drive shaft. The gear box has an input shaft for operatively coupling to the external drive shaft, a first output shaft coupled to the auger and a second output shaft coupled to the fan.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/984,615, filed on Mar. 3, 2020, the content of which is incorporatedby reference herein.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to snowblowers, and morespecifically to a snowblower that can be installed on a tractor or on asimilar vehicle.

BACKGROUND

Snowblowers are well known to remove snow from driveways, roadways, etc.

Snowblowers can generally be divided into two classes: single-stage andtwo-stage. On a single-stage snowblower, the auger pulls snow into themachine and directs it out of a discharge chute, the fan being integralwith the auger. On a two-stage snow blower, the auger pulls snow intothe machine and feeds it into a high-speed impeller or fan, which inturn directs it out of the discharge chute. In a typical two-stagesnowblower, the fan is located behind the auger and has a rotationalaxis perpendicular to the rotational axis of the auger.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,385,457 issued on May 31, 1983 to Fralish and titled“Snow Caster” describes a snow caster for use as a snowblower thatincludes a fan which is positioned co-axial the auger.

While Fralish solves the drawback of the lack of efficiency ofconventional two-stage snowblower, which results in a multitude ofchanges of direction for the snow, it is clearly designed for lawn orgarden tractor. As such, it includes complex transmission mechanisms,including a planetary gear, which are not adapted for operativelycoupling to the conventional external drive shaft of a larger tractor,such as a PTO (Power take-off).

SUMMARY

According to an illustrative embodiment, there is provided a snowblowercomprising:

a main frame;

an auger mounted to the main frame via a rotating shaft defining arotational axis;

a fan rotatably mounted to the main frame coaxially to the auger; and

a gear box for operatively coupling both the auger and the fan to anexternal drive shaft; the gear box having an input shaft for operativelycoupling to the external drive shaft, a first output shaft coupled tothe auger and a second output shaft coupled to the fan.

According to a more specific illustrative embodiment, there is provideda snowblower comprising:

a main frame;

an auger mounted to the main frame via a rotating shaft defining arotational axis;

a fan rotatably mounted to the main frame coaxially to the auger; theauger including two lateral side portions, each positioned on arespective lateral side of the fan; each of the two lateral sideportions of the auger including an helicoidal blade mounted to a firsttube; both first tubes being attached by a linking shaft and beingrotatably mounted to the main frame; the first tubes and linking shafttogether defining the rotating shaft of the auger; the fan including aplurality of vane equidistantly mounted to a second tube; the secondtube being mounted to the linking shaft via at least one bearingassembly for free rotation thereof about the linking shaft;

the snowblower further comprising:

a gear box for operatively coupling both the auger and the fan to anexternal drive shaft; the gear box having an input shaft for operativelycoupling to the external drive shaft, a first output shaft coupled tothe auger and a second output shaft coupled to the fan; the gear boxbeing configured so that a rotational speed of the second output shaftis greater than a rotational speed of the first output shaft;

a first drive assembly for operatively coupling the first output shaftof the gear box to the auger; the first drive assembly including a firstsprocket wheel fixedly mounted to the first output shaft of the gearbox, a second sprocket wheel fixedly mounted to the rotating shaft ofthe auger and a first transmission chain operatively mounted to bothfirst and second sprocket wheels; and

and a second drive assembly for operatively coupling the second outputshaft of the gear box to the fan; the second drive assembly including athird sprocket wheel fixedly mounted to the second output shaft, afourth sprocket wheel fixedly mounted to the second tube and a secondtransmission chain operatively mounted to both third and fourth sprocketwheels.

It should be understood at the outset that, although exemplaryembodiments are illustrated in the figures and described below, theprinciples of the present disclosure may be implemented using any numberof techniques, whether currently known or not. The present disclosureshould in no way be limited to the exemplary implementations andtechniques illustrated in the drawings and described below.

Unless otherwise specifically noted, articles depicted in the drawingsare not necessarily drawn to scale.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the appended drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a snowblower according to anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a back perspective view of the snowblower from FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the snowblower from FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a back elevation of the snowblower from FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective similar to FIG. 1, showing the main frameextended;

FIG. 6 is a back perspective similar to FIG. 2, showing the main frameextended;

FIG. 7 is a sectional perspective of the snowblower from FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a cross-section of the snowblower from FIG. 1, taken on thecut side of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a cross-section taken along line 9-9 in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, similar features in the drawings have beengiven similar reference numerals, and in order not to weigh down thefigures, some elements are not referred to in some figures if they werealready identified in a precedent figure. Herein, it shall further benoted that, for avoiding unnecessary details obscuring the invention,only device structures and/or processing steps closely relevant toschemes according to the invention are shown in the accompanyingdrawings while omitting other details less relevant to the invention.

The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term“comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one”, butit is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more”, “at least one”,and “one or more than one”. Similarly, the word “another” may mean atleast a second or more.

As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (andany form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having”(and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and anyform of including, such as “include” and “includes”) or “containing”(and any form of containing, such as “contain” and “contains”), areinclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, un-recitedelements.

A snowblower 10 according to an illustrative embodiment will now bedescribed with reference first to FIGS. 1 to 4.

The snowblower 10 comprises a main frame 12 defining a longitudinal axis14, an auger 16 rotatably mounted to the main frame 12 therein andhaving a rotational axis 18 generally parallel to the longitudinal axis14, a fan 20 rotatably mounted to the main frame 12 coaxially to theauger 16, and a gear box 22 for operatively coupling both the auger 16and fan 20 to a drive shaft (not shown).

Each of these components of the snowblower 10 will now be described inmore detail.

The main frame 12 has a top wall 24, a rounded rear wall 26 extendinglongitudinally from the top wall 24, two side walls 28, each extendinglaterally from both the top and rear walls 24 and 26 on respective sidesthereof, and an open side 32 opposite the rear wall 26. The top wall 24includes a hole (not shown) defining an outlet for the snow, the openside 32 defining an inlet therefor.

A directional chute 34 is mounted to the main frame 12 so as to be influid communication with the outlet. More specifically, the chute 34 ismounted to a flat plate 36, that is part of the top wall 24, via arotation mechanism, including a cog 38 and motor 40. The motor 40 isconnected to a power source from a tractor (not shown) to which thesnowblower 10 is mounted or equipment's thereof. The rotation mechanismallows orienting the chute 34 as it is well-known.

It is to be noted that some parts of the chute 34, such as cylinders,etc. has been omitted in the drawings so as to lighten the views. Thedrive mechanisms (not shown) of the chute 34 are connected to acontroller (not shown) and are operable for example from the tractor.

The chute is not limited to the illustrated embodiment and can takeother forms with more or less functionalities.

Since a chute for a snowblower is believed to be well-known in the art,it will not be described herein in more detail for concision purposes.

The width of the main frame 12, and more specifically of the open side32 thereof, is adjustable. With references more specifically to FIGS. 5and 6, the side walls 28 are slidably mounted to the top and rear walls24 and 26 so as to be selectively movable laterally in unison towardsand away the auger 16.

More specifically, each side wall 28 is secured to the lateral side edgeof an arcuate plate 42 that is slidably mounted to the rear wall 26 andthat is shaped so as to conform thereto. Two rectangular rods 44 and 46that are secured to the arcuate plate 42 so as to extend perpendicularlyfrom the side wall 28, one near the top edge 48 of the plate 42, theother near the bottom edge 50 thereof, are telescopically inserted incorresponding tracks 52 and 54 that are secured to the top wall 24. Ahydraulic cylinder 56, connectable to a tractor so as to be commandedtherefrom, is provided between the rear and side walls 26 and 28 toactuate the sliding movement of the side wall 28 to adjust the width ofthe main frame 12 to a desired length.

According to another embodiment, the width of the open side 32 of themain frame 12 is fixed.

The auger 16 includes two (2) lateral side portions 58 and 60, eachpositioned between the fan 20 and a respective side wall 28. Each of thetwo portions 58-60 includes an helicoidal blade 62 mounted to arectangular tube 64. With reference to FIG. 9, both tubes 64 are joinedon their adjacent sides by a cylindrical linking shaft 66 via a frictionmember 67. The tubes 64 and shaft 66 together define the rotating shaftof the auger. The distal side of each tube 64 is rotatably mounted on abearing assembly 68 secured to a side plate 69. The side plate 69 issecured to both the top and rear walls 24 and 26.

The cylindrical shaft 66 is further supported by two plates 70 and 72that are secured to the main frame 12 therein on both sides of the fan20 adjacent thereto. A bearing assembly 74 is provided between each ofthe plates 70-72 and the shaft 66.

The gear box 22 has an input shaft 76 for coupling to an external driveshaft, such as the PTO (Power take-off) of the tractor (not shown), andtwo output shafts, a first one 78 for driving the auger 16, and a secondone 80 for driving the fan 20.

The auger 16 is operatively coupled to the first output shaft 78 of thegear box 22 via a first chain drive assembly 82, including a firstsprocket wheel 84 fixedly mounted to the output shaft 78 for solidaryrotation therewith, a second sprocket wheel 86 fixedly mounted to theshaft 66 for solidary rotation therewith, and a transmission chain 88(schematically shown in dashed line to lighten the views).

The fan 20 includes four (4) generally scoop-shaped vanes 90equidistantly mounted to a rectangular tube 92. The tube 92 is mountedto the shaft 66 via bearing assemblies 92 for free rotation of the tube92 about the shaft 66. According to another embodiment (not shown), thetube 92 is cylindrical.

Each vane 90 are defined by a plate 94 bended at its center so as todefine two straight sides defining an obtuse angle of about 170 degreestherebetween. Each vane 90 further includes two parallel lateral sidewalls 96, each extending from a respective lateral side edge of theplate 94 on the concave side thereof.

The fan 20 is operatively coupled to the second output shaft 80 of thegear box 22 via a second chain drive assembly 98, including a thirdsprocket wheel 100 fixedly mounted to the output shaft 80 for solidaryrotation therewith, a second sprocket wheel 102 fixedly mounted to thetube 92 for solidary rotation therewith, and a transmission chain 104(schematically shown in dashed line to lighten the views).

The fan 20, and more specifically the number and configuration of itsvanes 90 can take other forms than illustrated.

With reference to FIG. 8, each of the first and second drive chainassemblies 82 and 98 further includes a tensioning mechanism 106 (onlyone shown). Each tensioning mechanism 106 includes a lever arm 108 thatis pivotably mounted to a respective plate 70 or 72 at its proximate end110 and having a small sprocket 112 at its distal end that engages arespective transmission chain 88 or 102 from a side thereof facing therear wall 26. The tensioning mechanism 106 further includes a biasingmember, in the form of a tensioning spring 114 that is fixedly mountedto a front plate 116 at one end, and to the lever arm 108 at the otherend.

The gear box 22 is configured so that the rotational speed of its secondoutput shaft 80 is greater than its first output shaft 78. Morespecifically, according to a more specific embodiment, the gear boxcauses the fan 20 to rotate at about 540 rpm (revolutions per minute),while the auger 16 rotates at a speed of about 200 rpm.

Generally stated, it has been found that a rotational speed of the fan20 which is about 1.5 to 3 times the rotational speed of the auger 16yields an efficient removal of snow from the auger 20.

Since it is believed to be within the reach of a person skilled in theart to conceive a gearbox with the above-described features, the gearbox22 will not be described herein in more detail for concision purposes.

It is to be noted that many modifications could be made to thesnowblower 10 described hereinabove and illustrated in the appendeddrawings. For example:

-   -   the shape and size of the main frame 12 are not limited to the        illustrated embodiment;    -   other mechanism than illustrated can be provided to vary the        width of the main frame. For example, other sliding mechanism        than the telescopic rods 44 and 52 can be provided and other        actuating mechanism than hydraulic cylinders can be used.        According to still other embodiments, the width of the main        frame can be fixed;    -   the tension mechanism is not limited to the illustrated        embodiment 106;    -   any of the two (2) chain drive assemblies 82 and 98 can be        substituted for another transmission system    -   the drive mechanism of the fan 20 and/or auger 16 can be adapted        so as to allow an adjustable variable rotational speed thereof.

It is to be noted that some well-known components of the snowblower 10have been omitted on the views or have not been described for concisionpurposes, such as the assembly allowing to secure the snowblower 10 to atractor.

Although a snowblower has been described hereinabove by way ofillustrated embodiments thereof, it can be modified. It is therefore tobe understood that numerous modifications may be made to theillustrative embodiments and that the scope of the claims should not belimited by the thereby but should be given the broadest interpretationconsistent with the description as a whole.

What is claimed is:
 1. A snowblower comprising: a main frame; an augermounted to the main frame via a rotating shaft defining a rotationalaxis; a fan rotatably mounted to the main frame coaxially to the auger;and a gear box for operatively coupling both the auger and the fan to anexternal drive shaft; the gear box having an input shaft for operativelycoupling to the external drive shaft, a first output shaft coupled tothe auger and a second output shaft coupled to the fan.
 2. Thesnowblower as recited in claim 1, wherein the auger includes two lateralside portions, each positioned on a respective lateral side of the fan.3. The snowblower as recited in claim 2, wherein each of the two lateralside portions of the auger includes an helicoidal blade mounted to atube; both tubes being coupled by a linking shaft and are rotatablymounted to the main frame; the tubes and linking shaft together definingthe rotating shaft of the auger.
 4. The snowblower as recited in claim3, further including a first drive assembly for operatively coupling thefirst output shaft of the gear box to the auger, and a second driveassembly for operatively coupling the second output shaft of the gearbox to the fan.
 5. The snowblower as recited in claim 4, wherein thefirst drive assembly includes a first sprocket wheel fixedly mounted tothe first output shaft, a second sprocket wheel fixedly mounted to therotating shaft and a transmission chain operatively mounted to bothfirst and second sprocket wheels.
 6. The snowblower as recited in claim5, wherein the second sprocket wheel is mounted to the linking shaft. 7.The snowblower as recited in claim 3, further comprising two mountingplates secured to the frame and receiving the linking shaft for rotationtherein.
 8. The snowblower as recited in claim 1, further including afirst drive assembly for operatively coupling the first output shaft ofthe gear box to the auger, and a second drive assembly for operativelycoupling the second output shaft of the gear box to the fan.
 9. Thesnowblower as recited in claim 8, wherein the first drive assemblyincludes a first sprocket wheel fixedly mounted to the first outputshaft, a second sprocket wheel fixedly mounted to the rotating shaft anda first transmission chain operatively mounted to both first and secondsprocket wheels.
 10. The snowblower as recited in claim 9, wherein thefan includes a plurality of vane equidistantly mounted to a tube; thetube being mounted to the rotating shaft for free rotation thereof aboutthe rotating shaft; wherein the second drive assembly includes a thirdsprocket wheel fixedly mounted to the second output shaft, a fourthsprocket wheel fixedly mounted to the tube and a second transmissionchain operatively mounted to both third and fourth sprocket wheels. 11.The snowblower as recited in claim 10, further comprising two mountingplates secured to the frame and receiving the linking shaft for rotationtherein; the fan being positioned between the two mounting plates; thefirst and second drive assemblies being positioned adjacent a respectiveone of the two mounting plates.
 12. The snowblower as recited in claim11, wherein at least one of the first and second drive assembliesfurther including a tensioning mechanism including a lever arm that ispivotably mounted to the respective one of the two mounting plates andhaving a small sprocket at a free end thereof that engages a respectiveone of the first and second transmission chains, and a biasing membermounted to both the main frame and to the lever arm, therebetween, so asto put tension on the respective one of the first and secondtransmission chains.
 13. The snowblower as recited in claim 1, whereinthe fan includes a plurality of vanes equidistantly mounted to a tube;the tube being mounted to the rotating shaft for free rotation thereofabout the rotating shaft.
 14. The snowblower as recited in claim 13,further including a first drive assembly for operatively coupling thefirst output shaft of the gear box to the auger, and a second driveassembly for operatively coupling the second output shaft of the gearbox to the fan; wherein the second drive assembly includes a firstsprocket wheel fixedly mounted to the second output shaft, a secondsprocket wheel fixedly mounted to the tube and a transmission chainoperatively mounted to both first and second sprocket wheels.
 15. Thesnowblower as recited in claim 13, wherein the vanes are scoop-shaped,defining a concave side thereof.
 16. The snowblower as recited in claim15, wherein each of the plurality of vane is defined by a plate bendedat its center to define two straight sides defining an obtuse angletherebetween.
 17. The snowblower as recited in claim 16, wherein each ofthe plurality of vanes includes two parallel lateral side walls, eachextending from a respective lateral side edge of the plate on theconcave side thereof.
 18. The snowblower as recited in claim 1, whereinthe gear box is configured so that a rotational speed of the secondoutput shaft is greater than a rotational speed of the first outputshaft.
 19. The snowblower as recited in claim 18, wherein the gear boxis configured to cause the fan to rotate at about 540 rpm (revolutionsper minute), and the auger at about 200 rpm.
 20. The snowblower asrecited in claim 18, wherein the gear box is configured to cause the fanto have a rotational speed of about 1.5 to 3 times the rotational speedof the auger.
 21. The snowblower as recited in claim 1, wherein the mainframe has a top wall, a rounded rear wall extending longitudinally fromthe top wall, two side walls, each extending laterally from both the topand rear walls on respective sides thereof, and an open side oppositethe rear wall, defining an inlet for snow; the top wall including a holethat is registered with the fan, defining an outlet for the snow; thesnowblower further comprising a chute that is mounted to the frame so asto be in fluid communication with the outlet.
 22. The snowblower asrecited in claim 21, wherein the fan is longitudinally centered alongthe main frame.
 23. The snowblower as recited in claim 21, wherein themain frame defines a longitudinal axis that is parallel to therotational axis; the main frame having a width that is adjustable. 24.The snowblower as recited in claim 21, wherein the top and rear wallsboth includes two longitudinal sides; one of the two longitudinal sidesbeing mounted to the other for telescopic movement in and out thereof.25. The snowblower as recited in claim 21, further comprising at leastone cylinder to actuate the telescopic movement.
 26. A snowblowercomprising: a main frame; an auger mounted to the main frame via arotating shaft defining a rotational axis; a fan rotatably mounted tothe main frame coaxially to the auger; the auger including two lateralside portions, each positioned on a respective lateral side of the fan;each of the two lateral side portions of the auger including anhelicoidal blade mounted to a first tube; both first tubes beingattached by a linking shaft and being rotatably mounted to the mainframe; the first tubes and linking shaft together defining the rotatingshaft of the auger; the fan including a plurality of vane equidistantlymounted to a second tube; the second tube being mounted to the linkingshaft via at least one bearing assembly for free rotation thereof aboutthe linking shaft; the snowblower further comprising: a gear box foroperatively coupling both the auger and the fan to an external driveshaft; the gear box having an input shaft for operatively coupling tothe external drive shaft, a first output shaft coupled to the auger anda second output shaft coupled to the fan; the gear box being configuredso that a rotational speed of the second output shaft is greater than arotational speed of the first output shaft; a first drive assembly foroperatively coupling the first output shaft of the gear box to theauger; the first drive assembly including a first sprocket wheel fixedlymounted to the first output shaft of the gear box, a second sprocketwheel fixedly mounted to the rotating shaft of the auger and a firsttransmission chain operatively mounted to both first and second sprocketwheels; and and a second drive assembly for operatively coupling thesecond output shaft of the gear box to the fan; the second driveassembly including a third sprocket wheel fixedly mounted to the secondoutput shaft, a fourth sprocket wheel fixedly mounted to the second tubeand a second transmission chain operatively mounted to both third andfourth sprocket wheels.